Interpretive Summary: The homogeneity of fiber properties within a bale of cotton is a significant quality factor. One of the motivations of this work is to establish a baseline for the current conditions of cotton. In the future, with the advent of precision agriculture and new harvesting technology, it is anticipated that the uniformity of the U.S. cotton crop should improve. This work should set the stage for establishing the degree of improvement of the crop.

Technical Abstract:
Twelve bales of cotton having a wide range of lengths were selected for testing. Each bale was systematically sectioned so as to collect twenty-five individual fiber samples from each bale. HVI and AFIS measurements were carried out on each bale to determine the variability of the various measured properties with the bales. Variance components analysis was conducted to determine the relative impact of sample location, instrumental measurement, or the cotton itself.